


Love in the Face of War

by cubile



Category: I Am Number Four (2011), The Lorien Legacies - All Media Types, The Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, long fic, ships to be added as the story progresses, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 16:37:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11832720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cubile/pseuds/cubile
Summary: The first person John Smith falls in love with on Earth is Sarah Hart. She's not the last, not by a long shot, but she transforms his life completely, turns his world completely on it's head. From there it continues changing until its unrecognizable to the kid he was before he moved to Paradise, Ohio. But that's okay, he thinks this is how he prefers it anyway.





	Love in the Face of War

When Number Four was eight, and his name was Chris, Henri told him for what seemed like the thousandth time that the Loric fall in love for life. Chris thought of the dark skinned boy in his second grade class and said, “I think I’m already in love.”  
Henri smiled indulgently and asked, “Oh, yeah? With whom?”  
Chris said, without a second of hesitation, “His name is Ace.”  
Henri’s hands stilled for a second on the coffeepot. His eyes were a little bit lost as he said, “Tell me about him.”  
Now, it wasn’t that same gender attraction was unheard of on Lorien, but Henri knew extremely well that Four was one of the last of a dying race, expected to one day repopulate his planet. In the beginning, there were nine of them, and all the Cêpans of course, but that was frightfully few to save an entire species. Even aging as they did, sometimes living centuries, Henri knew that the Cêpans were getting too old for repopulation, and all their hopes were lying with the young Garde.  
It was years later that Chris, who was Isaac at the time, came home and announced that he was in love. Again. An announcement of this sort hadn’t been made in many years, but Henri was ready this time. He asked, “Who’s the lucky boy?”  
Isaac answered, cheerful as he ever was following the first scar appearing on his ankle, “Her name is Amelia and she’s in the grade above me. She plays basketball and she’s really good. Can I go to her game tonight?”  
Henri smiled, perhaps a little sad, perhaps a little wistful, and said, “Sure.” He was already constructing a packing list in his head. If Isaac was getting attached, it was already beyond time to move on. But they had time for one game of basketball before they left.  
This was the first time Four had fallen for a girl on Earth, and Henri was relieved. Four would grow up to learn his duty, and this made it easier on all of them. Although, Four shouldn’t be getting attached to any girls on Earth, what with their mission and all. In fact, there was a girl on the ship with them, whose number he didn’t know, that Four’s parents had always joked he was destined to be with. Henri had hoped that Four would end up with her.  
Isaac, who was Leo at the time, got a second scar on his ankle the next year. By this time he hadn’t stopped falling in love with people, but he had stopped telling Henri. Leo had put together the connection between him “falling in love” and them changing states. He had also figured out that he wasn’t really falling in love with any of them, because he didn’t really know what love was.   
In fact, the first person he falls in love with is Sarah Hart, when his name is John Smith. He’s fifteen, and next in line to die for his planet. The first time he sees her, she’s taking pictures at his new high school in Paradise, Ohio, moving easily from one clique to the next. She’s shockingly beautiful with straight blonde hair past her shoulders, ivory skin, high cheekbones, and soft blue eyes. Everyone seems to know her and smiles hugely for her camera, not minding at all that she's photographing them, unlike John, who ducks away from the camera and covers his face. He knows Henri would kill him if his face got out on the internet, and would probably make them move again, less than two days after they got here.  
They had left Florida in a rush, just an hour after the third scar had appeared on his ankle while he was floating around the Gulf of Mexico on a pontoon boat. The boat belonged to the parents of the most popular kid at school, and, unbeknownst to them, he was having a party on it. John had never been invited to any parties before, mostly because he kept to himself at school. He had never branched out much due to Henri and him having to leave at literally any moment, but it had been more than two years since there was even news of the Mogadorians on Earth. Of course, the moment he let his guard down even the slightest, they were moving again, this time directly into the path and life of Sarah Hart.  
The girl mentioned above, whose name John doesn’t know yet, laughs and lowers the camera when he balks at the sound of the shutter going off. “Don’t be shy,” she chides gently.  
“I’m not. Just trying to protect your lens. My face might break it.”  
“With that scowl it might. Try smiling.”  
“No, really, I couldn’t.”  
“Got something against pictures?” she asks playfully. John can’t deny he’s suspicious of her insistence at taking his picture, and keeps his hands up.  
“I’ve got this kind of anonymous thing going on right now. Wouldn’t want to ruin it.”  
The girl laughs, lowering the camera finally and holding out a hand towards him. “You’re John, right?”  
His suspicions increase. “Yeah. How’d you know?”  
“I’m Sarah Hart. My mother is your real estate agent. She told me you’d probably be starting school today, and that I should look out for you. You’re the only new kid to show up today.”  
“Yeah, I remember now. She was nice.”  
“You gonna shake my hand?”  
He belatedly reachs out to take it, smiling now. The feel of her hand in his is one of the best things he’s experienced on Earth. He knows then that he’s going to fall, hard, for this girl. There’s no way around it, even if he tries to stop it.  
They chat back and forth for a few minutes longer, until the warning bell rings, signaling five minutes until the first class of the day starts. They say their goodbyes and John watches her walk towards the school. A moment later, something hit the back of his elbow. He turns to see a group of football players, all wearing letterman jackets, sweep by him. There’s no way it was an accident, but he’s not about to do anything about it, even with the way the lead man glares at him. John’s eyes catch on him, much like the way his eyes caught on Sarah a couple of minutes ago. The football player’s red and gold jacket contrast magnificently with his dark brown skin. Him and Sarah look to be opposites in every regard, but something about the two of them…   
A kid in a worn out NASA shirt that John remembers seeing earlier comes up on one side of him, falling in step as they walk towards the school. “I know you’re new, so I’ll fill you in,” he says.  
“On what?” he asks.  
“That’s Mark James. He’s a big deal around here. His dad is the town sheriff and he’s the star of the football team. He used to date Sarah, when she was a cheerleader, but she quit cheerleading and dumped him. He hasn’t gotten over it. I wouldn’t get involved if I were you.”  
“Thanks,” John says, knowing he’s already involved, for better or for worse.

**Author's Note:**

> tell me if you like this and i'll post more? i'm probably writing more anyway but this fandom seems pretty small and this is going to have a lot of pairings that people might not be into. polygamy man.


End file.
